Newcastle's unbeaten home record was torn to shreds as Portsmouth claimed a fourth successive away victory with a stunning first-half salvo at St James Park.

The visitors struck three times in as many minutes to establish a 3-0 lead within 11 minutes of kick-off as the Magpies capitulated in embarrassing fashion in front of a stunned crowd of 51,490.

Noe Pamarot's eighth-minute piledriver got Pompey off to the perfect start, but Harry Redknapp's men were in dreamland when first Benjani Mwaruwari and then John Utaka made the most of woeful defending to effectively seal victory with 79 minutes still to play.

Sol Campbell's 15th-minute own goal gave the home side hope, but they huffed and puffed their way through a disjointed display until Niko Kranjcar drilled a 70th-minute free-kick from an improbable angle to end their hopes.

The Magpies, who were booed off both at half-time and on the final whistle, now face a derby trip to Sunderland next weekend knowing they must improve markedly if they are to end their dreadful run of results on the road and restore pride.

Sam Allardyce had admitted in the wake of last Saturday's debacle at Reading that his sides home record was keeping them afloat and, while he acknowledged Pompeys visit to St James Park would present them with their greatest test yet, few could have expected what was to transpire in an astonishing opening to the game.

Having made five changes to the team which under-achieved at the Madejski Stadium, the manager had hoped for a rousing start; what he got was a collapse which set new standards even for a club which has made an art form of committing defensive suicide over the years.

If Pamarot's eighth-minute opener, a 25-yard missile, was the result of individual brilliance, not to mention brute force, the contributions of Benjani and Utaka to a 3-0 scoreline with just 11 minutes gone owed much to horrific inadequacies in the Newcastle rearguard.

CONSIDERING how manager Sam Allardyce made defence a priority when he first took charge at Newcastle United, it is a case of back to the drawing board after five months in charge at St James' Park.

Cacapa has been hailed as the answer to many of the Magpies' shortfalls at the back but the Brazilian - also below-par at Reading last weekend - highlighted there is still much work to be done.

It is now seven games since Newcastle kept a clean sheet and the way Cacapa et al folded within 11 minutes of this match starting has left Allardyce perplexed.

There have been far too many errors in recent weeks and there was no shortage here; or at least that was the case before Cacapa made way.

The former Lyon captain was hooked within 16 minutes of the first whistle. By that time he had already been embarrassed by Portsmouth's attacking play.

Newcastle were powerless to prevent full-back Noe Pamarot crashing in a 25-yard screamer inside eight minutes.

But Cacapa - and Steven Taylor for the third - should have had more about them to thwart Benjani Mwaruwari and John Utaka scoring in the three minutes immediately after Pamarot's goal.

There was fortune about the way Michael Owen's shot was saved yet still found its way into the Portsmouth net after hitting Sol Campbell's head.

And perhaps the person must culpable for this defeat was Allardyce himself. Five changes from the team that lost at Reading could have been viewed his ruthless.

Instead it only reflects badly on him, with the biggest cheer of the fixture again saved for the emergence of Obafemi Martins.

This time, however, the Nigerian was unable to deliver and Newcastle's first home defeat of the season was made worse by Taylor's failure to deal with Niko Kranjcar's free-kick.

The ease with which the normally assured Claudio Cacapa was muscled off the ball by Benjani on nine minutes was embarrassing, and things were to get worse for the Brazilian within two minutes when he was brushed off by the powerful Utaka to leave stunned goalkeeper Steve Harper, in for the injured Shay Given, helpless.

But if defensive errors were ultimately to blame, Pompey's supremacy in the middle of the park, where Joey Barton and Nicky Butt simply could not get close to the impressive Papa Bouba Diop and Sulley Muntari in the early stages, was equally significant.

Allardyce left the comfort of the stand to head for the dug-out within seconds of the third goal, and swiftly replaced Cacapa with David Rozehnal as he looked to stem the tide and instigate a recovery.

His sides approach was far more prosaic than that of the visitors, but it paid dividends after 15 minutes when, after David James had blocked Charles NZogbia's shot and Michael Owen's follow-up, the ball ricocheted into the empty net off the unfortunate Campbell.

The England goalkeeper had to get down well to keep out Steven Taylor's drive at the foot of the post five minutes later, although he was rarely troubled to the same extent as the Magpies gradually worked their way back into the game.

That process was hampered after the break by a lack of accuracy with the final ball as Newcastle persisted with an, at times, too direct approach.

NZogbia wasted a 53rd-minute free-kick when he curled a shot high over James bar after Butt had been felled by Sean Davis, and the Frenchman found himself operating as an emergency full-back again after 57 minutes.

Allardyce had left striker Obafemi Martins out of his starting line-up, but introduced him to the fray in place of Jose Enrique in the search for greater penetration.

But with Pompey using their share of the possession much more effectively than their hosts, chances were at a premium.

However, the openings finally started to materialise and James was forced to save from Owen and Smith in quick succession, although Harper needed to be on his toes to keep out a 68th-minute Kranjcar header.

But their hopes wilted and died with 20 minutes remaining when Kranjcar's free-kick from wide on the left by-passed Taylor and Abdoulaye Faye to wrong-foot Harper and end up in the net.

Indeed, Portsmouth might have won even more comfortably had substitute Kanu decided to shoot early after being played in 11 minutes from time, his hesitation allowing Harper to spare his defenders further wrath.

The chorus of disapproval which rang around St James as the players trudged off told its own story and left Allardyce in little doubt as to what is expected at the Stadium of Light.

Watch the match highlights from Monday, November 5